Dangerous Miracles
by lindyrb
Summary: Finally! Here’s the third part of my trilogy. If you haven’t read Moonlight To Dawn and Blood Feud, I’d recommend it since certain characters and situations are introduced in those stories first. This story picks up immediately following the end of Blo
1. Chapter 1

Title: **Dangerous Miracles (Pt 1 of ?)****  
**Author: Lindyrb **  
**Rating: PG-13 **  
**Pairing: Mick/Beth **  
**Spoilers: None**  
**Disclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

_**Finally! Here's the third part of my trilogy. If you haven't read **__**Moonlight To Dawn**__** and **__**Blood Feud**__**, I'd recommend it since certain characters and situations are introduced in those stories first. This story picks up immediately following the end of **__**Blood Feud**__** and YES, it includes Mick and Beth's wedding (sheesh…thought I was going to get staked for not including that last time!). Enjoy!**_

**Part 1:**

Beth sighed with relief as she slid into a booth at The Daily Grill. Quickly ordering a cheeseburger and fries, she checked to be sure she had a clear view of the front door then relaxed and peeked at her watch. 6:50. Mick was due to meet her for a quick dinner before she headed over to Northridge to cover a political rally and he went out to Pasadena to check out a suspicious arson site. Just a typical day for them.

She played with the ring on her left hand and smiled. As with everything else, Mick had gone overboard, but for once she hadn't complained. The square cut 1 ½ carat diamond was set in a wide platinum band flanked with baguettes on either side and accented with a small flawless emerald (her birthstone) nestled on either side of the main stone. Her girlfriends had nearly fainted the first time they'd seen it and she'd grinned at Steve's jokes about the blinding glare reflecting at the camera. Her mother, on the other hand had just smiled and complimented Mick on his good taste – then made sure the ring was clearly showing in their engagement photos. That and described it in great detail to each and every one of her friends.

Well, in 24 days, all the chaos would be over and she and Mick would finally be Mr. and Mrs. Michael Patrick St. John officially, legally, and in the eyes of the Church. The dress had been fitted, the flowers ordered and the reception planned to the last detail.

Beth had spent weeks trying to decide on a location for the wedding. Outdoors was too risky since a number of vampires would be attending. But Beth hadn't been a regular member of any congregation in years. It wasn't until one day when she and Mick were driving through Santa Monica that she found the perfect solution.

_

* * *

__Mick turned west on California Street, heading through one of Santa Monica's older sections. "I haven't been thru this neighborhood in years," he smiled._

_"Oh?"_

"_Yeah. This is the neighborhood we lived in when I was a kid," he explained. "The house we lived in is gone, but some things have stayed the same." Pointing to a large church on their right, he smiled. "That's St. Monica's. That was our church. I was confirmed there – I was even an altar boy for a while."_

"_Wow," exclaimed Beth. "It looks familiar for some reason."_

_Mick nodded. "It's been used for a lot of movies. I remember when they were filming "Going My Way" with Bing Crosby. I got to be one of the extras in a couple scenes."_

_Beth was quiet as she watched Mick's face soften as he remembered his childhood._

"_Mick?"_

"_Hmmm?"_

"_Do you think we could get permission to be married there?"_

* * *

One day and one phone call later, the St. John – Turner wedding was booked at St. Monica's Catholic Church. Alexander had assured them he'd handle not only permission to use the church, but even knew a highly revered vamp-friendly priest who would be glad to perform the ceremony. Reluctant to push someone else out of their already-booked time, Beth had enthusiastically suggested a romantic, candlelit evening ceremony to be followed at Josef's home (at his insistence) by an exuberant reception.

So…Stunning ring, check. Breathtaking dress, check. Flowers, food, and reception details taken care of courtesy of one Josef Konstan, check. And the perfect church, check. Beth smiled and took a sip of water. _Life was very good, indeed._

Mick wove his way through the crowds milling along the Universal CityWalk towards the restaurant where Beth was waiting. The May evening was unseasonably warm, even with Mick staying in the lengthening shadows of the tall storefronts lining the promenade. A group of giggling teenage girls jostled him as they hurried by, paying scant attention to anything other than their conversation. Two small boys nearly collided with him as they darted among the groups of patrons and Mick sidestepped to avoid getting run over by a wheelchair coming around a corner. Now within sight of The Daily Grill, Mick found himself boxed in by families and groups squeezing by a hotdog vendor's cart. One woman murmured an apology as she stepped on his foot while another person elbowed him and Mick felt a sharp jab from something in the arms of a couple laden down with packages .

Rubbing his arm where the package had jabbed him, he finally reached the restaurant and gratefully plopped down across from his fiancée. Shedding his coat, he pushed up the sleeves of his Henley and grinned at the beautiful blonde.

"Am I late?"

Beth smiled and shook her head. "No, you're right on time, but I didn't think you'd mind if I went ahead and ordered."

"That's fine with me," Mick smiled, rubbing his arm, "although I was nearly trampled and poked to death getting here."

Beth wrinkled her forehead. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much. Just a lot of people in a fairly small area with elbows and packages." He leaned back against his seat. "It's really warm out tonight."

"You ate before you came, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but it's got to be over 80 out there this evening."

Beth nodded and took a bite of her dill pickle. "Good thing you just finished…'cooling off'…before coming here," she said with a smile.

"So what's so exciting about this political rally that BuzzWire wants its star reporter to cover it?"

An enthusiastic Beth launched into an explanation of the angle she was pursuing about this candidate. Mick watched, loving the energy and drive that both made her a good reporter and made her the woman he loved.

Suddenly, Beth stopped speaking and stared at Mick, a stunned look on her face.

"Beth? What's wrong," asked Mick, leaning forward with concern.

Beth's eyes dropped from his face to stare at his hands, then snapped back up in shock.

"You…..**_you're eating my fries_**!!"


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Dangerous Miracles (2 of ?) **  
**Author: Lindyrb **  
**Rating: PG-13 **  
**Pairing: Mick/Beth **  
**Spoilers: None**  
**Disclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...)

**From last chapter:**

_Suddenly, Beth stopped speaking and stared at Mick, a stunned look on her face._

"_Beth? What's wrong," asked Mick, leaning forward with concern._

_Beth's eyes dropped from his face to stare at his hands, then snapped back up in shock._

"_You…..**you're eating my fries**!!"_

**Part 2:**

Mick's eyes dropped to where his fingers clasps three half-eaten fries then back to Beth's wide eyed stare. Suddenly the noise and bustle around them seemed to disappear. Mick could feel the salty taste of the fries in his mouth and the warmth of the freshly prepared fries in his fingers.

"I… didn't even know I was eating them. They just…smelled good and suddenly I was hungry and…" Mick looked at Beth with a mixture of distress and grim understanding.

"In the crowd. When I was walking thru the crowd on my way here I felt sharp poke in my right arm. I just figured it was something pointed that someone was carrying."

Beth grabbed her purse and quickly fished out enough cash to cover her tab and dropped it on the table. Sliding out of her seat, she already had her phone in hand and had hit speed dial. "Hey, Steve? I'm sorry, but I've had an emergency come up. Can you call the office and see if Mark or Sherry or one of the other reporters can cover the rally tonight? Thanks."

Mick slowly stood up and grabbed his jacket. Folding it over his arm, he subconsciously rubbed the sore spot on his arm with his free hand. It was happening again. _Human_.

Quickly ushering Beth out of the restaurant, they headed towards the parking garage. Mick could feel the changes throughout his body, noting that the still-bright rays of the sun now warmed rather than pained him. As they wound through the crowd, he allowed himself a moment to appreciate the evening, turning his face up toward the warmth. Quickly deciding to leave Beth's car for now, they slid into the Benz. Mick headed for the nearby onramp to the 101 Freeway and after a brief discussion, decided to head for Josef's house.

Twenty minutes later, the Benz was parked in Josef's drive and Mick and Beth had headed up the stairs to where they knew Josef would still be busy conducting business. After all, the Nikkei was still open.

Josef turned and smiled, seeing the two of them, but his smile faded at the worried expressions on his friends' faces. Walking towards them, his step faltered as he looked in surprise at Mick.

"Yeah, we know," Mick said with a grim smile. "It just happened."

Josef quickly led them down to his private study, and closed the door behind them. Even as he turned around, Mick was stripping off his Henley. As Mick gave Josef a summary of what had happened, Beth quickly found the puncture wound, still red and inflamed.

Beth wrinkled her forehead and looked from Mick to Josef and back. "Injected? I thought the cure was a botanical paste?"

"To this point," Josef nodded, "it always has been. Obviously someone is continuing to develop and refine it. What's even more disturbing is that someone clearly targeted you, Mick. Someone followed you, took advantage of the crowds and had the foresight to inject you with a needle large enough to pierce your duster and deliver a sufficiently large dose in less than a second."

Mick nodded, understanding the implications of what Josef was saying, but his concern was more on the Cure itself. "Josef, it happened really fast. Maybe because it was injected, but when Coraline rubbed the paste into the cut on my arm, it was nearly 15 minutes before I really felt any major warmth whatsoever, and it took more than 30 minutes for the full change. This time it was less than five and there were no warning signs, no rush of warmth or anything. I just was suddenly…eating."

"So if the Cure is now in a liquid form, how else is it different?" Beth added, "It may be more concentrated, have other components, even side effects." She turned to look at Mick. "What if somebody found a way to make it permanent?"

The three of them stood in silence for a moment. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Josef said quietly. "Now, there are some things we need to do." Crossing to one of the comfortable chairs, he dropped down and motioned for the others to sit.

"We need to find out not only how this compound is different, but we need to determine who gave it to you and why." He held up his hand to stop their comments. "As much as I understand your concern for Pinocchio here, Blondie, he seems to be fine for now. I've got a vamp-friendly doctor that we'll have take a look at Mick within the next day or so. But my main concerns right now have to be whom, vamp or human, is in my territory with a supply of a potentially dangerous drug, what their plans are, and why they've chosen now."

Mick looked levelly at Josef. "You know, Josef, I never asked what The Council did about DuPre and Coraline. Are they still….is it possible they could be behind this?"

Josef grimaced and shrugged. "I figured you'd ask sooner or later. DuPre was…eliminated. He had obviously gone insane and was judged to be a dangerous threat to the tribe. They really didn't have a choice. But Coraline…" Josef glanced from Mick to Beth as he spoke. "Coraline is still considered royalty. And her actions were ruled to be based on personal issues but not a threat to the tribe overall. Instead, she was permanently banned from North America and restricted to her family's estates in the Loire Valley of France. She's not even allowed travel within Europe without Council approval. Oh," Josef added, "she's also forbidden to have any contact with you or Beth either directly or via others."

"Still," Mick said, shaking his head, "I wouldn't put it past her to find a way. And DuPre's family might want some kind of revenge as well."

"Coraline would be a fool to think she could do something like this without getting caught," snorted Josef. "And DuPre's family should have figured out that any kind of revenge would just further reduce their influence within the tribe. They not only lost DuPre, but his uncle on the Council was shipped off to some Siberian outpost. It's not smart to piss off the Council," Josef added with a grin.

"However," Josef continued more seriously, "if Coraline or the DuPres are being this, the Council needs to know. Which means," he said, reaching for his secure line, "I guess we need to fill them in on the situation."

Mick grinned and shrugged. "Alexander is planning to come out for the wedding. If I'm still human, I think he'd notice."

His Excellency Alexander, Chairman of the North American Council certainly shared their concerns. Speaking to the three of them on Josef's speaker phone, he assured Josef that he would immediately check with his contacts in France as to Coraline's location and alert the Council's investigative arm as to the situation. He spoke with Mick and Beth and was reassured that Mick felt no side effects yet but that he would see a doctor soon. He signed off, telling them that he was looking forward to seeing them at their upcoming wedding, no matter whether Mick was vamp or human.

The wedding! Beth turned to Mick, "I'm supposed to meet with the caterer tomorrow morning at 10:00 to try out the different entrees and deserts! I suppose I can try to reschedule."

Josef waved his hand, dismissing her concerns. "Go ahead. No reason not to go. You can even take the groom with you. At least he'll be able to taste the samples." He jotted down a note in his Blackberry. "I'll make Mick's appointment with the doctor for 2:00PM and text you the address. The doctor's name is Dr. Ross. He's a doctor and a vamp, but his primary job is running the night shift of some biotech medical research lab out in Thousand Oaks."

Mick and Beth followed Josef back upstairs to the door. "So," Josef grinned, "Call me if anything weird happens. You know, changing into a bat or something."

Mick flipped a hand gesture to Josef as he slid into his car. Josef laughed as he closed the door then turned and strode back towards his tech center, shouting for his staff. They had a lot of work to do.

* * *

Mick turned the Benz towards their home. A quick check of his watch showed that it was just after 8:00PM and he quickly pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store. Thirty minutes later, a bemused Beth followed Mick back to the car with a shopping cart full of bags containing steak, salmon, two types of rolls, four types of cookies (including three bags of Double Stuff Oreos), two flavors of ice cream, a pack of hot dogs, a 12 pack of Foster's Lager, a variety of fruits and vegetables (Beth insisted), and a gallon of milk.

They nearly got out of the parking lot when a lit sign caught Mick's eye and demanded another stop. Ten minutes later, he was back in the car with his Large Quiznos Prime Rib Cheesesteak sandwich with everything plus double mushrooms, a bag of BBQ chips, and a large soda and finally got on their way.

When Mick wanted to drive through a KFC, though, Beth vetoed it. "Mick, we have a week's worth of groceries in the car and you have a huge sandwich too. You have to pace yourself! The last time you were human, you gained a whole pants size before you slowed down."

Mick grinned sheepishly. "I guess I am kind of overdoing it. It's just that everything looks and smells so good." He laughed and turned to Beth. "You're going to have to keep me from pigging out and losing my girlish figure."

Back at the apartment, Mick and Beth moved around the kitchen finding places for the new groceries, pausing to brush shy kisses and teasing little nips on each other as they worked. Sliding past each other, one or the other would 'accidently on purpose' press the other against the counter or frig, allowing hands and lips to roam at will.

Beth laughed as she presented her neck to Mick's insistent ministrations. "A little randy tonight, aren't you?"

"No," Mick replied, feigning innocence. "I'm Mick…who's Randy?"

"Smart ass," she snorted slapping his hands away as she reached to put the cookies on a shelf.

"Look on the bright side," Mick grinned, nibbling on Beth's ear, "I don't have to climb out of your nice warm bed to go crawl back in my freezer."

Beth appeared to consider his statement. "Well, I don't know," she said, batting her eyes, "if you're going to stay all night, we're going to have to discuss you hogging all the covers."

"I don't hog the covers!"

"Oh please!" Beth turned to look at him, laughter in her eyes. "For a guy who sleeps naked in a freezer, you certainly like to wrap yourself up in all the blankets you can steal!"

Mick stubbornly replied, "I do not!"

"Although," she continued, ignoring his outburst, "when you bury yourself under the comforter, it does make it easier to ignore you when you start to snore."

"I don't snore!" Mick waved his arms emphatically. "Some nights I don't even breathe!"

"Well, you will be tonight," she quipped, sliding her arms around his waist and feeling him melt into her embrace.

Mick chuckled and slid one hand down the back of her jeans and cupped her right cheek. "Then I guess we better make sure I'm tired enough to sleep _really_ soundly."

Beth pressed herself against Mick's growing bulge, causing him to moan and rock against her. Reaching up, she sensuously licked his neck, drawing him toward the stairs.

"I think we can arrange that."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Dangerous Miracles (3 of ?) ****  
****Author: Lindyrb ****  
****Rating: R (or T or whatever rating!)****  
****Pairing: Mick/Beth ****  
****Spoilers: None****  
****Disclaimer: CBS owns Moonlight. They've got all the neat stuff (like Alex's phone number...) **

**AN: OK…..obviously hell has frozen over and pigs are soaring thru the skies because YES, I've started writing again and will continue until "Dangerous Miracles" is finished (although it will only be a chapter every week or so). If you haven't read "Moonlight to Dawn" and "Blood Feud" (the first two parts of this trilogy), I'd encourage you to do so (or go back and refresh your memory)…or this story will be rather confusing!**

**From last chapter:**

_Mick chuckled and slid one hand down the back of her jeans and cupped her right cheek. "Then I guess we better make sure I'm tired enough to sleep really soundly."_

_Beth pressed herself against Mick's growing bulge, causing him to moan and rock against her. Reaching up, she sensuously licked his neck, drawing him toward the stairs._

"_I think we can arrange that."_

**Part 3:**

Mick drifted up from the depths of sleep and became conscious of two things: one, that there was a pleasant, warm weight draped over his right side, and two, his stomach was grumbling and growling, demanding to be fed. This last sensation jolted him fully awake, reminding him of the events of the previous evening.

It had been both wonderful and different to make love to Beth last night as a fully human man. With no fear of vamping out, he hadn't had to worry about hurting her. Instead, they had been just a man and woman, in love and making love.

Brushing a light kiss across Beth's forehead, he regretfully disentangled himself from the satiated sleeping blonde and slipped out of the bed, padding across the room to the master bath. After a quick pit stop, he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and turned to head downstairs.

"Mmm….where are you going?" Beth yawned and arched her back, the sheet slipping down to her waist revealing a very enticing view.

Mick looked hungrily at the beautiful woman in his bed and had turned back to her when his stomach angrily growled a reminder. Beth sat up suddenly and laughed, "I forgot! You must be starving."

She scurried out of bed and quickly pulled on panties and an oversized t-shirt. With a wide smile, she brushed past Mick, leading him down the stairs. Quickly moving about the kitchen, she started pulling ingredients out of the fridge and cooking utensils from their storage spots. Bewildered, Mick stood at the entrance to the kitchen and watched as Beth whirled from place to place.

"Okay, eggs, mushrooms….ooh, we have bell peppers! Hmm…I know there's some ham left in here someplace. Salsa. Toaster plugged in. Mmm….strawberry jelly!" Spinning around to face Mick, Beth bounced up and down in excitement. "I've never gotten to cook breakfast for you! I mean, last time you were human, I wasn't really around that much, so I thought I'd fix you an omelet. You like omelets, don't you?" she asked.

Mick grinned at her enthusiasm. "Yeah, I like omelets. I don't think I've had one in more than 50 years, so it sounds _really_ great." He looked at the pile of ingredients she had assembled on the counter. "Can I help?"

"Sure," she nodded, pointing at the vegetables on the cutting board. "You can chop those."

Mick picked up a small knife from the counter and haphazardly stabbed into the top of a bell pepper. Beth rolled her eyes and quickly moved to rescue the poor pepper.

"Here," she said, showing him how to slice the pepper into strips. "Just remove the stem and core, then slice along the length of the pepper."

Mick looked down at the woman beside him. _How did I get so lucky? She's beautiful. Intelligent. Sexy. And __**mine**__! _ He slid behind her and enveloped her in his presence, sliding his hands down her arms until his hands covered hers – one on the knife, the other on the hapless pepper.

"Mick!" Beth weakly chastised the unusually warm chest behind her, warm lips on her neck.

"I heard you," whispered Mick. "Start at the top, then stroke along the length…"

Beth felt her breath catch in her throat as she felt his firm ridge pressing against her. Licking her lips she abandoned the pepper and knife and pressed back against the solid wall of sex behind her. She was rewarded with a deep moan as Mick loosened his grasp on her arms and, shoving the t-shirt out of the way, grasped her hips firmly and trapped her against the counter.

Suddenly, the raucous tones of _Viva la Vida_ by Coldplay blared from Beth's phone on the counter. Beth giggled as Mick growled his displeasure. Slipping out of his embrace she giggled as she answered the phone; even as a human he growled!

Beth chatted for a moment with the caterer, confirming that she and Mick would be at their office as scheduled. Hanging up, she smiled as she quickly moved back to the abandoned ingredients on the counter, sprayed the pan and began tossing in the chopped ham and mushrooms she had already prepared.

Within ten minutes, Mick was digging into a hot fluffy omelet, groaning in appreciation as the combination of flavors exploded in his mouth. He nodded his thanks as Beth slipped two slices of buttered wheat toast on his plate and refilled his orange juice glass for a third time.

Finally cleaning the last of the egg from his plate with a remnant of crust, Mick pushed himself away from the table and sighed in contentment. Across from him, Beth nibbled on a bagel and grinned.

"Had enough?"

A lazy smile spread across Mick's face. "More than enough," he nodded. Getting up, he carried his plate and glass to the sink and glanced back over his shoulder to where Beth sat watching him.

'You're a really good cook, Hon," he grinned. "I guess that's one of your talents I didn't have an opportunity to appreciate before now."

"Wow!" she smiled, "if you're that excited about a basic omelet, wait till you try my Double Chunk Fudge Brownies."

"Brownies?" Mick's eyes opened wide and he licked his lips. "You can make brownies? I didn't get around to trying any last time I was human, but they always look so good. " He gestured excitedly, crossing to where she sat at the table. "Could you make some now? I'll go get whatever you need from the store."

Beth burst into laughter at the sight before her. He reminded her of a little boy as he bounced from foot to foot, eyes wide with anticipation. Standing up, she gave him a quick hug and kiss.

"I promise I'll make you brownies later tonight," Beth assured him, "but right now we need to go see the caterer about the reception." Seeing his disappointment, she patted his arm. "I think you'll like it, though. They'll have lots of different foods to sample."

Mick perked up, "Maybe they'll have brownies!" As Beth's laughter followed her to the stairs, he trailed behind her.

"Could we swing through Krispy Kreme on the way? I never did get to try one of those…"

Dr. Carl Ross slipped on a freshly laundered lab coat and checked the assembled equipment for a third time that day. He had sent his researchers – all humans – on a "field research" trip that day that had suddenly become critical about 24 hours earlier. Right after he'd gotten a phone call from Josef Kostan.

He'd been shocked to get a call from Kostan himself and had told the powerful vamp that of course he'd be glad to help him in whatever way he could. When he'd heard the shocking details of the situation, he assured Kostan immediately that he would personally handle all the testing and deliver the results to Kostan as soon as possible.

The Cure. He had heard, of course, about St. John's recent experience with the botanical paste given to him by his ex-wife. It had been one of the worst-kept secrets in the local vampire community and while it had been the subject of much gossip among the tribe's members, it had represented much more to Ross. Because unlike most vampires, he had known about the existence of The Cure for many years.

Ross was a research scientist specializing in hematology and bloodborne disorders. The clinic he managed and its partner division in upstate New York were both owned by United BioResearch Associates, part of an international medical research trust owned entirely by a consortium of vampires including Ross himself. He had been a simple village doctor in his native Italy when he'd been turned in the late 1800's. It seems a beautiful young accident victim hadn't been nearly as dead as he thought she was. One minute he'd been inspecting the body and the next he'd been ushered into the world of the undead.

Always a pragmatist, it didn't take him long to decide to focus his time and energy on medical research, not only for the benefit of humans but to better understand all the unanswered questions about vampire physiology. He soon narrowed his research to the emerging field of hematology and quickly developed a reputation as a dedicated scientist. Members of the vampire community approached him, offering to help fund his research efforts and by the time WWI threatened to envelope all of Europe, Ross had half a dozen small research clinics from Italy to Sweden.

It was during that early part of the twentieth century that he'd been approached by a very powerful and wealthy family of vampires who had wanted him to discretely work on a project for them. The Duvals had informed him of the existence of The Cure and made it very clear that knowledge of the substance was not to be shared with anyone for any reason. As the political climate began to change in the late 1930's, Ross chose to relocate his research efforts to the United States where he was less likely to be disturbed by the upheaval of war. Backed by a generous investment from the Duvals, Ross set up the clinics in New York and Los Angeles to provide himself with two locations and he relocated from one to the other every fifteen years or so. His name changed each time, but the focus of the work remained constant. Through the years, while the Duval's project remained active, Ross also made breakthroughs in various areas of research such as coagulants and anti-coagulants, anemia and even hemophilia.

He's been disappointed that he hadn't had a chance to examine St. John while he'd been under the effects of the cure. The amounts of the substance he'd been given for study had been too small to actually try out on a vampire subject but Ross was sure that he'd be able to learn much from a vamp currently under the influence of the botanical. When Kostan called yesterday, he'd been thrilled at this second chance.

His initial reaction had been to inform the Duvals of this opportunity but something had stopped him. Partly it was because Kostan had told him this was entirely confidential and while the Duvals were also powerful, they were in Europe and Kostan was in his own backyard.

But something else bothered him. Through the years, he'd realized the Duvals were unscrupulous, immoral and lacked any sense of humanity. On the other hand, while Kostan was known to be a ruthless businessman, Ross knew he'd founded a college, built wings on hospitals, and had a reputation for being a fair and considerate employer. In addition, St. John had fought hard to break away from the Duval influence and their showdown in front of the Council, resulting in Coraline being banished to France permanently had become general knowledge. And now, he was getting married to a human.

Finally, he couldn't help but wonder – if the Duvals were the sole owners of The Cure, and he was fairly sure he was the only researcher they had working on the project, who had injected St. John? Someone, somewhere not only knew about The Cure, but had managed to synthesize it and convert it to liquid form. In other words, somebody was even further along in their research than he was.

No, while Ross knew he was walking a dangerously narrow path, he decided to keep this information to himself for now. He glanced once more at the sterile packed syringes on the tray and checked his watch. St. John would be here in less than an hour.

Four hours and several thousand calories after breakfast, Mick guided the Benz north on the 101 Freeway through the canyons of the Conejo Valley. Next to him, Beth looked up from the directions on her iPhone.

"We go past Westlake Village and exit at Lynn Road," she noted. "It's a beautiful drive, but it's a ways out of Los Angeles."

"Josef mentioned that this doctor's more a researcher than a normal doctor," Mick said with a shrug. "Evidently he set up this clinic long before Thousand Oaks became a suburb of LA. He probably wanted to stay out of the public eye like any normal vamp."

"In other words, he doesn't have a Facebook page?" she teased.

"You and Josef aren't going to let that go," he replied dryly. "I logged on to update some info last week and found out that Josef had Logan upgrade it. Colors and links and all kinds of stuff. Not that I mind Logan being the administrator, but now I have to go through him to even make changes on my own site. He's afraid I might mess up his work."

Beth grinned, "Hmmm…I bet it wouldn't take much to get him to add some music to the site. Maybe something like _Secret Agent Man_!"

"You do realize Logan took over as admin on your Facebook page too, don't you?" he replied and was rewarded by her wide eyed look of horror.

Fifteen minutes later, Mick escorted Beth into a nondescript glass and stucco building and into a standard medical office suite with United BioResearch Associates on the door. Almost immediately, they were greeted by Dr. Ross who seemed somewhat surprised to see Beth but was friendly and welcoming to them both. He escorted them back to his private office which had an exam room attached. Directing Mick to get changed into a gown, he invited Beth to sit down and tell him what she knew of the situation.

Beth explained what had happened the day before and how quickly the change had occurred. Ross asked her about Mick's first experience and she'd explained that they hadn't been together at that point – that she'd only talked to him for a few minutes the day after the change then not again until they'd had a picnic at the beach a week later. Less than 24 hours after that, he'd been re-turned by Josef.

Ross jotted down notes as she spoke, then left Beth with a couple magazines while he reentered the exam room where Mick waited. Twenty minutes later, he returned while Mick changed.

"All that we have left now," Dr. Ross explained, "are the blood tests. I'll do those as soon as Mick is changed."

"Dr. Ross," Beth ventured, "Mick and I still need to get our blood tests done for our marriage license, and I thought that since he's human right now, and you're doing blood tests on him anyway…could you do mine while you're at it?"

The doctor nodded and smiled, "Certainly. It would be my pleasure"

Less than half an hour later, Mick and Beth were back in the car and headed south. Suddenly from Beth's purse came the muffled notes of _Money, Money, Money_.

"Hey, Josef," Beth answered, glancing over to catch Mick's smirk. "Yes, everything went very smoothly. Dr. Ross was great." She listened for a moment then nodded, "Sure, we can stop by. We're about 20 minutes away. Okay!"

Dropping the phone back in the purse, she turned to Mick and shrugged. "We've been 'summoned'. Josef said he'd explain when we got there - something about treachery and deceipt." Beth laughed, "He sounded excited, like he does when he's planning a poker night for you guys."

Mick chuffed in response. "As far as Josef's concerned, there's not much difference. To him, they're both just games." He reached over and squeezed Beth's hand. "The only difference is that this time I hope he remembers that I'm playing with a handicap."

Beth gave his hand a gentle squeeze and settled back into the leather seat. _I hope he remembers too, because this time the stakes could be Mick's life._

_TBC…_


End file.
